Bay Area weather outlook: What could be in store this winter

Bay Area residents hoping to get a clearer picture of what's in store this upcoming winter when it comes to the weather will have to keep waiting.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last week released its U.S. Winter Outlook report, and in it said the Bay Area faces equal chances of seeing below-average, near-average, or above-average temperatures and precipitation.

"For this coming winter, we really are kind of on that side of we just don't quite know," said Brian Garcia, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Bay Area office. "The El Niño–Southern Oscillation is leaning toward a La Niña type pattern, which typically means that the Pacific Northwest is wetter and cooler and the southwest is drier. We fall into more of that kind of southwest type vibe when it comes to La Niña, but La Niña is so weak that the models are really struggling to pick out any discreet detail in terms of a broad scale winter outlook."

NOAA's outlook, which applies for the months of December, January and February, is not to be taken as something set in stone.

"I want to emphasis that when we're looking at these outlooks, it's not a forecast," NBC Bay Area Meteorologist Vianey Arana said. "It's not 'this is what's going to happen.' It's more of a probability of what could happen."